One person was shot dead as rumours were afloat about a possible blast in the trouble torn areas of the state capital which witnessed communal violence last week following the visit of US President George W Bush to India.

The rumours were triggered after a blast in the temple town of Varanasi which claimed at least 20 lives on Tuesday evening. One person was killed in Maulviganj area in Lucknow as the shopkeepers were closing down their shops after the rumours of blast.

Inspector General of Lucknow police O P Tripathy however said that it was yet to be asscertained whether the murder was an act of personnel enmity or had any link to the Varanasi incident.

The shopkeepers in the main markets of Aminabad, Nazirabad, Lalbagh and Hazratganj downed their shutters as rumours started spreading in these localities, which had witnessed communal flare up on friday last during anti-Bush demonstrations.

People were seen running about on the main roads and traffic came to a halt. Additional police force has been rushed in these areas to instill confidence among the people and senior officials including the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police were patrolling the sensitive localities, official sources in Lucknow said.